1586 THE PERCHING BIRDS 



The yellow bunting (E. citrinella) is a common bird in Northern 

 Europe, extending eastward into Siberia, and frequenting alike the 

 more cultivated valleys of Norway and the south of Europe. Mr. 

 Dresser observes that it is to be seen on almost every hedgerow in many parts 

 of England. ' ' Perched on the top of the highest available twig, the male may be 

 heard incessantly pouring out his monotonous but not disagreeable song, and during 

 the breeding season his notes fall upon the ear from the early morn till late into the 

 evening. As twilight sets in, the yellow bunting may still be heard, and is perhaps 

 the last bird to give a parting note to the retiring day, with the exception of his 

 congener, the corn bunting, who sing till it is quite dusk." The yellow bunting 

 generally nests upon some bank, occasionally in a furze bush. The eggs are white, 

 scribbled over with fine, hair-like markings. In autumn the yellow buntings collect 

 in flocks, feeding on blackberries and other wild fruits, as well as upon all the grain 

 that they can glean in the open fields. As the season advances, they seek the 

 neighborhood of homesteads, and search for worms and other insects upon heaps of 

 manure. Although the yellow bunting is generally supposed to be a resident species 

 in Great Britain, there can be no doubt that it is only a summer visitant to its more 

 northern breeding grounds. Large numbers of this species sometimes occur on 

 migration at Heligoland. The male has the head and throat bright yellow, and the 

 back brown, inclined to rufous, all the feathers having dark centres; the wings and 

 tail are blackish brown, the outer tail feathers having the inner webs partly white. 

 In winter the plumage is rendered more dingy by fulvous edgings to the feathers. 

 The female is grayish brown above, having the lower parts of the back, the rump, 

 and upper tail coverts pale cinnamon; the lower parts being citron yellow and the 

 upper breast mottled with brown and tinged with olive green. 



Closely allied to the last, but more pleasing m both character and 

 coloration, is the cirl bunting (E. cirlus), which is thinly distributed 

 through Central Europe, being in some districts even more common than the yellow 

 bunting, but generally taking rank as a scarce bird. English ornithologists know 

 it best as a resident in the southern countries, particularly in the west, but it has 

 nested as far north as Yorkshire. It is numerous in North Devon, around 

 Barnstaple especially, where it is a shier bird than the yellow bunting, and is fond 

 of concealing itself in the spring and summer in thick hedges. Both in the spring 

 and again in the autumn the male bird is often to be seen perched on the branch of 

 some hedgerow elm, from whence he delivers his very unpretending song. 



In Germany the cirl bunting is migratory, leaving its northern habitat in 

 November, perhaps even much earlier, and wintering far to the southward, and 

 returning in April. It frequents the same kind of places as the yellow bunting, 

 such as the bushy banks of streams, meadows, and hedges, small groves and 

 mountainous districts in the neighborhood of fields and gardens. In many other 

 respects the cirl bunting resembles the yellow bunting. In spring it prefers to take 

 up its position in a high and open place on the tops of trees, but later in the season 

 is found lower down, and always likes to hide in dense thickets. It hops a good 

 deal upon the ground, is by no means shy, and when frightened up, soon settles on 

 the nearest low bush, and shows little fear. In its flight it also resembles its near 



